Overview
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California
Peninsula and an important metropolitan centre in Mexico. A
sprawling border town, Tijuana is not suited to everyone's holiday
taste, with plenty of noise and frenetic activity. Its location on
the American border and proximity to San Diego and other southern
Californian cities ensures a steady stream of curious day-trippers
and souvenir hunters from up north.
Tijuana's notorious image has now taken a back seat;
the sleazy element, the drugs and violence that seems to be the lot
of a border town, is still there but the focus has shifted in an
effort to clean the town up a bit, and Tijuana has become something
of a shopper's delight, along with the intense nightlife and
non-stop entertainment.
This is the place to shop and dance the night away;
there are souvenir stalls, numerous duty-free shopping malls, and
markets selling goods from all over Mexico, as well as countless
bars, restaurants, and dance clubs. The centre of the activity is
the bustling Revolution Boulevard, crowded with shops, bars and
restaurants and their pushy touts, who do their best to get you
into their establishments. Female tourists should avoid entering
bars alone, as safety can occasionally be an issue.
Tijuana has some more traditional Mexican attractions
as well, including bullfighting and Jai Alai (a Spanish ball court
game), but travellers to the city are generally not looking for an
authentic Mexican experience so much as a playground south of the
border.
Tijuana does, however, make a fun starting point for
a holiday aimed at exploring the Baja California peninsula, and the
beaches and resorts to the south. While Tijuana has been a popular
and safe place in the past, in recent years violence between law
enforcement authorities and drug cartels has escalated,
particularly along the US-Mexican border. Visitors who still wish
to travel to Tijuana are advised to exercise extreme caution and
check the safety situation with local authorities and those of
their home country.